THE BULLS AND KOBE BRYANT

With seven words, John Paxson calmed his annoyed team, restored sanity to the rumor mill and pulled the Bulls out of the Kobe Bryant sweepstakes for now.

"There's not a deal to be done," Paxson said Thursday at a crowded Berto Center.

Despite widespread national speculation, Paxson insisted the Bulls and Lakers were never close to a trade for the superstar despite several conversations and attempts to involve a third team.

"We talked a lot about parameters, but specific things, we never got down to the nuts and bolts of it because there was never a deal to be done," Paxson said. "That's the reality of it. People can make it what they want. But it's time to put it to rest."

Paxson stressed the difficulty of trading for Bryant, who has an opt-out clause in the summer of 2009 from his seven-year, $136.4 million deal and is the only NBA player with a no-trade clause.

Still, with the NBA trade deadline not until February, it's possible this story could surface again.

"Who knows?" Paxson conceded. "I don't have a crystal ball. The reality is right now it's done. A lot of people are searching for information, and it becomes ridiculous. It's not fair to the players. It's not fair to us. I don't like seeing our guys' names in the paper all the time about stuff that's not based on fact. It's time to move on."

The breathless speculation turned the Bulls' season-opening day in New Jersey into a circus, with players being bombarded by questions about Bryant and the current makeup of the Bulls. Players said the right things, and Paxson insisted the Bulls' flat performance was merely a matter of the team playing poorly.

But Paxson also conceded he worried about the issue becoming a distraction for a team many pick to be an Eastern Conference championship contender as it's currently constructed.

"I know as a player whenever you hear your name in a trade discussion, it can weigh on your mind," Paxson said. "It sure did when I was playing. I am sensitive to that. A lot of things that were mentioned weren't based in any fact whatsoever. That's the unfortunate part."

Such as the Bulls being ready and willing to trade Luol Deng, who confirmed Paxson's fears of the trade talk becoming a distraction, openly expressing his distaste for it.

"I am [annoyed]," Deng said. "[Reporters] want to get to the bottom of it, so I have to keep answering questions."

Paxson insisted the Bulls aren't to the point where any player is "off limits." Ben Gordon and Ben Wallace apparently were two of the many Bulls discussed in various scenarios.

But the Lakers' insistence that Deng be part of any deal was consistently met with resistance from Paxson. Bryant, too, was said to have insisted Deng be on the Bulls if he were traded to Chicago.

"The only way I would consider a deal is if I could go to [team Chairman] Jerry Reinsdorf and with assurance say we're a better basketball team from top to bottom," Paxson said. "On top of that, this is a financially responsible move to make. I know that people sometimes don't want that to be part of the discussion, that an owner should throw around money like it's nothing. But that's not the reality of our business."

Indeed, Paxson clarified that a signed-and-traded P.J. Brown, who was mentioned in one national rumor that received plenty of play, would force the Bulls to take back salary that would put them beyond the league's punitive luxury tax threshold. That's because Brown's salary currently isn't on the Bulls' books.

"We're not going to do [the luxury tax] this year or any other year," Paxson said. "That's a component again that people don't understand. It's not about not being interested. It's about that there's not a deal to be done."

Speaking to reporters in Los Angeles, Lakers coach Phil Jackson reiterated his team doesn't want to trade Bryant, even while refusing to close the door with a tweak delivered at the media.

"I don't think anything ends," Jackson told reporters. "Do things end just because a day goes by? I know your paper did, but they become partridge-cage fodder."

Bryant's appreciation for the Bulls dates to a visit by Paxson and Reinsdorf in the summer of 2004, when he was a free agent. Bryant has since said he seriously considered trying to force a sign-and-trade with the Lakers then to sign with the Bulls.

"We presented ourselves as an organization to him, and he liked what he heard," Paxson said. "For that reason, he likes the Chicago Bulls, which is obviously flattering.

"We went through a lot of different scenarios. But there's more to it than lining up players and figuring out a way to get something done. There's money involved. There's a trade kicker involved. It's complicated."

No longer.

The Bulls are moving on -- for now. And Deng couldn't be more relieved.

"We still have a good team," Deng said. "We know what we're capable of. We're deep enough, and if we play hard enough for 82 games, later in the season teams will wear out. We can have a great season."